阿拉伯地区的人工智能未来（英）

VISIONESCWA, an innovative catalyst for a stable, just and flourishing Arab regionMISSIONCommitted to the 2030 Agenda, ESCWA’s passionate team produces innovativeknowledge, fosters regional consensus and delivers transformational policy advice.Together, we work for a sustainable future for all. Artificial Intelligence Futuresfor the Arab Region © 2025 United NationsAll rights reserved worldwidePhotocopies and reproductions of excerpts are allowed with proper credits.All queries on rights and licences, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the United Nations Economic and SocialThe findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflectthe views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States.The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinionwhatsoever on the part of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of itsauthorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.Links contained in this publication are provided for the convenience of the reader and are correct at the time of issue. The UnitedNations takes no responsibility for the continued accuracy of that information or for the content of any external website.References have, wherever possible, been verified.Mention of commercial names and products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations.References to dollars ($) are to United States dollars, unless otherwise stated.Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicatesUnited Nations publication issued by ESCWA, United Nations House, Riad El Solh Square, P.O. Box: 11–8575, Beirut, Lebanon. Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA),email:publications-escwa@un.org.a reference to a United Nations document.Website:www.unescwa.org.Cover photo credit: ©iStock.com2500217E PrefaceThis report is the third in a series of analyses from the United Nations Economic andSocial Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on megatrends.In his 2021 report on “Our Common Agenda”, the United Nations Secretary Generaldescribed that “now is the time to think for the long term, to deliver more forsucceeding generations and to be better prepared for the challenges ahead”. Thecommitments called for in Our Common Agenda include “convening foresight andplanning experts ... and regularly reporting on megatrends”. ESCWA has been advancingthese commitments since 2021 in a variety of ways, including through this series ofmegatrend studies (Electric mobility, December 2022; Metaverse, August 2024).Megatrends are socioeconomic-technical phenomena that have reached a pointat which they are transforming the dominant patterns of life and work that shapethe lives of billions of people today. They disrupt existing economic, financial,social-cultural, environmental and other societal conditions, and create wholly newconditions. The effects are almost always a mix of beneficial and harmful. Theydemand policy and other actions by leaders across sectors to strengthen and takeadvantage of the potential positive impacts while mitigating the potential harms.In2025, artificial intelligence (AI) might be considered the quintessence of a megatrend.While the technology has been developed and in use for more than six decades, it hasmetamorphosed in recent years into a force affecting a growing number of facets ofhuman life. It is changing how products are manufactured, how schools teach, howcities are designed, how healthcare innovations are invented and applied, and muchmore – all in ways that we have only barely begun to recognize or understand.AI is advancing in all these fields in the Arab region today. The pace and nature ofthis advancement will be distinctive to the countries and people of the region.The purpose of this report is to explore what that could look like and what the implications of different choices and priorities could be. Itsaim is not to prescribe, but rather the opposite – to providepolicymakers and leaders in other sectors in the Arab regionwith a combination of facts, projections and ideas about AIthat open their minds and their decision-making processes toa range of possibilities.The time for Arab region leaders to engage with the AImegatrend is now, through policy, investment and other typesof actions, in support of key aims of the Pact for the Futureadopted in September 2024. Doing so represents a singular opportunity to actively shape desirable futures for the peoplesof the region today and for generations to come, takingadvantage of this transformational technology, and of thesocial and economic and other changes it is unleashing.Shaping the future is not only possible, it is imperative. Itrequires proactive steps to understand what the possibilitiescould be, followed by actions to leverage that understanding.This repo